New cardinals, red hat in Texas

Photo from Catholic News Service.

I have to say, today's Vatican news of the first cardinal appointed for Texas didn't come as a complete shock to me, but it did happen a little sooner than I thought. While working for Texas Catholic in Dallas, editor Bronson Havard and I often talked about how the south (or more appropriately the southwest) was ready for a cardinal appointment. The creation of the Houston/Galveston Archdiocese at the end of 2004 made me think that a red hat was imminent in Texas. With the immigration (and Catholic) explosion in Texas over the last decade, it became clear that the Vatican needed to keep that part of the country on its radar. Pope Benedict XVI apparently felt the same way.

What did surprise me is how St. Louis and New Orleans continue to be ignored in the appointments, and that neither of the new archbishops in Baltimore (O'Brien) or Washington, D.C. (Wuerl) were elevated. But I think the latter two will happen at the next consistory, which seem to take place every 2-3 years.

And it's nice to see Archbishop Foley get elevated. I met him several times at Catholic Press Association conventions when he was the head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He is a fascinating person to talk to and a holy man, and I would love to find a way to get him here to give a talk in our diocese.